The invention relates generally to pans for use in preparation of food, and more particularly to a lid assembly for a pan.
In the past, cooking pans have included various means to measure and display temperature information. One approach has been to insert a thermometer probe into a food item during cooking. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,783. This arrangement provides the user with an indication of the temperature at the center of the food item. U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,344 discloses waterless cooking apparatus including a knob having an indicator that changes color in response to certain temperature changes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,188 discloses a similar indicator for use with closed cooking vessels such as pressure cookers. Each of these indicators are mounted on the lid, and measure temperature at or near the surface of the lid. A problem with temperature indicators of this type is that they typically have a slow response time, both with respect to increasing temperature and with respect to decreasing temperature.
Another approach has been to provide an audible signal, such as a whistle that sounds in response to increased vapor pressure in the pan. A valve or the like may be provided to enable the audible signal to be deactivated. Examples of audible signals of this type are disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,095 and No. 4,418,637.
A general object of the invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for providing temperature information during cooking. A further object is to provide a cooking pan and lid assembly that are suitable for commercial mass production and commercial marketing, in that they are capable of economical manufacture, capable of being cleaned without undue difficulty, and have an attractive appearance.